


Blind Date

by Popstar



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blind Date, Christmas fic, Fluff, M/M, Mentions of Christmas, Mistletoe, Romance, Sort of at least, eddie is a fire fighter but he's at another station, i’m in the Christmas spirit and I wanted to mention that holiday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:00:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28049628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Popstar/pseuds/Popstar
Summary: Buck feels a little ridiculous dressed in a jacket and a shirt. But Maddie had insisted on him dressing up for the occasion and even Chimney had quipped that it’s the right thing to do. So Buck, who never went on a blind date before in his life, listened to his big sister and her boyfriend because apparently that’s who he is now.Or the one where Buck goes on a blind date with someone called Eddie.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 37
Kudos: 278





	Blind Date

**Author's Note:**

> So I stumbled over 9-1-1 a few weeks ago and then fell straight into the fandom and the feels. And this time I told myself that I'd be content with just lurking and reading and not taking part. And then I started talking about a few headcanons with my friend and suddenly this was born, along with another longer fic I'm working on and an even longer one that still needs to be written. But well. What can you do when the plot bunnies bite? Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this.
> 
> As always, [crownheartsteacup](http://crownheartsteacup.tumblr.com) is the best person in the world and she’s the best for reading this over. I could not do this without her. <3 (All remaining mistakes are my own.)
> 
> Also, I'm sorry if it's a bit British. I tried to Americanise it, but well, I tried. So I apologise for all remaining Britishness.

“I’m not sure I’ve reached that level of desperation yet,” Buck replies and pulls a face, giving Hen a questioning look.

“Oh c’mon, it’s one blind date. If you don’t like it, at least the food will have been good. The restaurant is amazing. Plus, if it’s bad, you can hold it against me and I’ll never try to fix you up again,” she says and nudges her shoulder against his slightly, the look on her face expectant and hopeful.

Buck sighs, then lifts his shoulders in a shrug and presses his lips together. “Alright, fine,” he agrees eventually. “It’s one evening. Can’t hurt, can it?”

Hen grins brightly at him and wraps her arms around him to hug him for a moment. “You’ll have a great time, you see!”

“Eddie, right?” Buck asks when Hen leans back and nods at him, the bright grin still in place on her face. Hopefully he won’t regret it.

—

Buck feels a little ridiculous dressed in a jacket and a shirt. But Maddie had insisted on him dressing up for the occasion and even Chimney had quipped in that it’s the right thing to do. So Buck, who never went on a blind date before in his life, listened to his big sister and her boyfriend because apparently that’s who he is now.

After Abby it took him a while to get back on his feet. She’s been his first real love, the woman to get him to settle down and start a proper relationship. Only to break his heart as she left him and bolted off to Europe on a mission to find herself. It took him months to realise she had broken up with him without so much as a word and even longer to get back in the dating game, even though he’s not dating per se. He’s been on a few disasters that definitely deserve not to be called “date” at all.

That all of his friends and co-workers are in healthy, beautiful relationships doesn’t help either. Sometimes Buck doesn’t only feel like the third wheel, he feels like the odd one out. The one who’ll always be alone and never find the person to settle down with.

It’s why he agreed to go on this blind date in the first place. As Christmas rolls around this year and all of his favourite people have someone to kiss under the mistletoe, Buck has started to feel the tug inside his chest, too. He wants that as well. He wants happiness and cheesiness.

And desperate times call for desperate measures.

So now he’s walking towards a restaurant, a single white rose in his hand, the signal Hen told him to bring, as apparently that were Eddie’s favourite flowers. He knows next to nothing about his date. Only the name, Eddie and that she got brown eyes and dark hair and, according to Hen, is super nice. Buck has tried to find out what Eddie is short for but he hasn’t figured out a woman’s name yet that could work well with the nickname. But on the other hand he hasn’t spent too much energy with thinking about it. Even though he’s looking forward to the date, he’s not too sure he’s ready yet. Buck lets out a nervous breath and pulls out his phone to glance at the time. It’s still early. So at least he’s not going to be late. 

“Hello, how can I help you?” The waiter asks as he enters and Buck smiles sweetly at him before he lets his gaze wander across the room.

He spots a white rose on a table in the far corner on the left and his face lights up immediately. Dragging his gaze up over strong hands, full biceps and broad shoulders has Buck blinking twice, his smile faltering for a second. He takes in the guy’s stubble as his gaze wanders up to the brown eyes, warm and a little nervous, too. Buck doesn’t know how Hen could have known. He’s never commented on liking men, too. It’s not that he keeps it a secret, it’s just that he doesn’t talk about it because his last experiences with guys have been years back and they were merely hook-ups in college, nothing else and especially nothing serious. But again, Buck hasn’t had a serious relationship with a woman either before he’d met Abby, so that technically doesn’t count. Apparently Hen knows everything and Buck trusts her judgement. Maybe Eddie is truly perfect for him.

So Buck turns back to the waiter and grins. “My date is already over there,” he says and gestures into the direction of the guy before he starts to make his way over to him. He hasn’t been spotted yet and Buck straightens his back a little, putting on his best flirty smile as he approaches the table. “Eddie?” He asks once he’s close enough. The guy looks even more handsome up close and when his brown eyes look up at Buck, coming to meet his own, Buck takes a deep breath and smiles even wider. “Hi, I’m Buck. Evan, really. But everyone calls me Buck.” He holds out his hand for Eddie to shake.

It takes the guy a second to blink out of his trance and then he smiles warmly. “Hey Buck. Nice to meet you,” he says and gets up to take his hand in greeting. He’s got a strong handshake and a firm grip and the touch alone does more to Buck than watching porn for the last months could.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Buck replies and nods before they sit down again at the table. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long?”

Eddie shakes his head. “No, I got here a bit early, so I can’t complain,” he replies and then laughs softly. “Sorry, I’m terrible at this. It’s the first date I’m on in ten years or so.”

“Oh?” Buck asks, tilting his head to the side. “How come?”

“I was married,” Eddie replies and then it clicks into place for Buck. Of course he was. A gorgeous guy like him got snatched off the market right away. “But the divorce has been through for a year, so now I’m back in the game. And since I’m not the biggest fan of online dating my friend Lena offered to set me up with her friend.”

Buck frowns a little at that, his mind rattling a little. He doesn’t know any Lena. Could that have been a hook-up once who’s trying to have him on? But then it finally clicks. “Oh, Bosko!”

Eddie laughs and nods. “Yeah.”

“She’s great.” Buck laughs and nods. He has met her the year before when the tsunami hit and her engine was the first on scene. She’s an awesome firefighter from Station 136 and they have saved countless lives together during the tragic event. Now it’s all starting to make sense, even though he’s never told Bosko about his sexuality either But maybe Hen and her got talking, Buck isn’t going to question their judgement. Right now he doesn’t even know himself all that well. He looks up when another waiter brings over the menus, interrupting the awkward introduction talk they are stumbling through right now. Once she is gone again, Buck turns his attention back to Eddie, taking him in once more.

Eddie truly is a handsome guy. A bone structure to die for and kind, brown eyes, the dark hair Hen has mentioned, styled nicely into some sort of quiff. Buck hasn’t been open to think about actually dating a guy in... probably ever. But he won’t knock it until he’s tried it and Eddie seems like a decent guy to begin with. He looks up at him, shooting him a nervous look and then laughs when Eddie returns the same look. “Sorry... I just... I’ve never done this with a guy,” Eddie admits and shrugs. “It’s... it was a surprise to have you come up to me. I didn’t really expect... well, you.”

Buck bites his lip for a moment before he smiles again and nods. “Yeah, me neither. I mean, I’ve had my fair share of experience in college but I’ve never been on a date with a guy either. I’m not really sure why they set us up in the first place. I’ve never said anything to Hen or anyone.”

Eddie smiles gently. “Well, we can try and see how it goes? And if it’s a shitty date we can pretend that it wasn’t supposed to be a date but just two guys hanging out together?”

The suggestion coaxes a laugh from Buck and he gives Eddie a cheeky smile in return. “Yeah, I love the sound of that,” he replies and winks at him, trying to test out the waters and how far his usual flirty self is going to take him here.

Eddie actually blushes but he keeps Buck’s gaze and nods. “Good,” he says and then looks down at the menu again.

Buck smiles and bites his lip for a moment. It seems like this is going to be an interesting evening.

—-

As it turns out, having dinner with Eddie is a delight because Eddie is not only good looking, but funny and kind as well and he makes Buck feel special with the way he keeps his gaze on him, showering with his attention and makes Buck feel like he’s the only person in the room. As it turns out while they talk, Eddie is also a fire fighter, so je definitely is someone who gets Buck’s love for the job and his dedication. He gets his insane work hours and the stress that comes with the job because he’s doing the exact same. Buck doesn’t have to worry about Eddie running out on him eventually because he can’t take the stress anymore.

“And the guy could still talk! It was incredible,” Eddie finishes and Buck laughs loudly at the story. He lives for crazy stories like that. They have been sharing their stories all over dinner, trying to up one another by telling the most ridiculous calls they had to answer.

“Amazing,” Buck replies with a grin and leans forward, resting his chin in his hand as he watches Eddie fondly. He really likes the guy. As much as Buck isn’t an expert when it comes to first dates, he really, really enjoys spending time with Eddie now. And the best part about it is, he wants to do it again. Not only another date though, he could imagine more with Eddie. He could imagine walking him up to his front door and kissing him good night. Maybe even tonight, if he’s lucky.

“Yeah.” Eddie smiles and his gaze locks with Buck’s, sending a pleasant shiver down Buck’s spine. Fuck, he’s already gone for the man and he knows he’d do whatever Eddie asks him to do in a heartbeat. But Eddie ticks all of the right boxes on Buck’s relationship list. The one he didn’t even know he had until tonight. But as the evening went on and Buck had a great time with Eddie, it started to become clearer to him what exactly it is he wants. As Eddie’s gaze drops lower and he licks over his own lips for a moment, Buck feels heat pool in his stomach. Granted, a little lower than his stomach, but he’s not too fussy about that right now. He shifts a little in his seat and swallows. “There’s something I have to tell you though.”

“Oh?” Way to kill the mood. Buck tilts his head to the side and he watches Eddie curiously. Maybe he’s not out yet and isn’t ready to show himself with a fellow fire fighter. Well, technically neither is Buck, so it’s not a real problem for him to keep their relationship a secret for a while. He can totally understand. They can figure this out together.

“I have a kid,” Eddie continues. 

“I love kids!” Buck beams at him because it’s true, he does. He loves spending time with them and showing them the world. The world always looks better through children’s eyes. He’s always known he’d want children one day but he hasn’t put too much thought into it yet.

“A son, Christopher. He’s nine.” Eddie gets out his phone and shows it to Buck, revealing a photo of Eddie with the most adorable kid Buck has ever seen. Buck reaches for the phone, wrapping his hand around it and thus Eddie’s for a moment to take in the picture.

“And super adorable.” Buck beams up at him. “He’s your world, right?”

Eddie nods. “Yeah. I’m all he’s got left. His mother died shortly after the divorce. So I’m especially protective of him.”

Buck nods and lets go of Eddie’s hand again so he can put away his phone. “I get that. And you want to take things slow, right? I get that, too. I’m not the guy I used to be anymore, so I don’t... I’m not looking for... I... had a serious relationship a while back and I’m not looking for meaningless sex right now either. Not that you’re not sexy. Hell, you are. I’d drag you off to the gent’s right now if I could.”

“You would, huh?” Eddie asks with a laugh. “Good to know.”

Buck blushes a little and then shrugs. “Yeah. But as I said that’s not who I am anymore. Apparently instead I go on blind dates now. With handsome strangers whose kids are super adorable.”

“So you’d like to do this again?”

“Of course! What kind of question is that?” Buck laughs. “You’re funny and handsome and I haven’t had so much fun in years. And I’d like to think the feeling is mutual?”

Eddie smiles. “Yeah. It is,” he replies and then looks over. “You want to get out of here and go for a walk?”

Buck laughs and nods. “I’d love to.”

—-

Eddie insists on paying for their dinner since he was the first to arrive. “You can pay for the next,” he tells Buck and grins at him before they get up together and walk out of the restaurant. Buck ends up holding the door open for Eddie on the way out and while he didn’t mean anything special by it, he gets rewarded by Eddie trailing his hand over Buck’s side as he walks past him, leaving Buck to smile after him before he catches up the few steps. It’s a beautiful night, the air still warm, as they make their way down the pavement together. “Did you park close by?” Eddie asks and looks to the side.

“Sort of. But we can take a walk around the block and then end up here again?” Buck asks back and smiles. He’s a few inches taller than Eddie, as he realises now, but only slightly and it would give him the perfect angle to kiss him. However, Buck isn’t his former self anymore, so he’s not going to follow that impulse, no matter how tempting Eddie looks. He’s Buck 2.0 now and he’s definitely going to do this right. He wants Eddie and he wants all of him. “What about you?”

“Got a spot right around the corner,” Eddie replies and smiles. “So taking the long route and ending up back here sounds good to me, too.”

“Good.” Buck smiles and then pushes his hands in the pockets of his jacket as they start walking together. They fall into a comfortable silence, their shoulders brushing together from time to time and it’s nice to simply walk next to Eddie right now. He doesn’t quite know what to say anyway, not wanting to break the nice atmosphere between them. But he definitely knows he wants to see Eddie again.

Then suddenly Eddie stops and turns towards Buck. “You know, I don’t normally do that and you said you wouldn’t either on the first date, not anymore. But I guess we don’t have a choice.”

Buck draws his eyebrows together, an amused smile tugging his lips upwards at Eddie’s strange behaviour. “What are you talking about?”

Eddie nods up and when Buck follows his gaze he starts laughing properly when he spots the bundle under the street lamp. “Mistletoe,” Eddie says. “I don’t know who hangs these things up on the street like that. But it seems like we don’t have a choice.”

“I guess we don’t,” Buck agrees and looks back at Eddie, suddenly feeling more than nervous again.

Eddie smiles at him and leans closer. His hand comes up to cradle Buck’s cheek, the touch warm to Buck’s skin. When their lips meet it’s in a soft and gentle, just testing the waters and nothing more. And yet Buck still melts against him, bringing one hand up to curl it around Eddie’s shoulder, the other moving to squeeze his hip. It’s just a simple touch of their lips but Buck feels his knees give in and arousal spreading through him. Fuck. He’s so far gone on this man and it’s just been one date.

When Eddie pulls back again Buck blinks his eyes open and smiles dopily at him. “I really hope we get to do that again.”

“Yeah,” Eddie replies, voice a bit hoarse and the licks over his own lips, gaze on Buck’s. “I hope so, too.”

The moment gets broken though when Eddie’s phone starts ringing and he takes a step away from Buck to answer the call. Not that Buck wants to eavesdrop but apparently it’s about his son. “Of course. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Eddie ends the call and gives Buck an apologetic look. “That was my abuela. She’s looking after my son. He woke up after a nightmare and is asking for me. Sorry I—“

“You have to go.” Buck smiles and nods. He takes a step towards him again and grabs Eddie’s shoulders with both hands. “Don’t worry. I get that. Your son comes first.” He leans in and presses a kiss to Eddie’s cheek, close to the corner of his mouth. “Go home. I’ll text you.” Luckily they exchanged numbers during dinner so they don’t have to awkwardly do it now on the street after they kissed.

Eddie beams at him and squeezes his side for a moment. “Thanks Buck,” he says and then sprints off into the direction of his car.

Buck smiles after him and then runs a hand through his hair. If Eddie hadn’t gotten the call the evening surely would have ended differently because he got the feeling that neither of them wanted it to end. But Buck feels great for taking things slow like this. He doesn’t want to rush anything, not when he feels like this thing with Eddie could actually become something really great.

—

When Buck walks into the station the next morning he wears a huge grin on his face. He’s texted Eddie as soon as he got home and even though he’s had to wait a bit for his reply, Eddie hold true to his promise and they texted back and forth almost all night. So Buck feels pretty great. Tired but definitely great.

Chimney grins at him when he walks in. “Late night?” He asks curiously.

Buck laughs. “Yeah. But not what you think. We texted. I went back to my apartment, alone, and we texted all night. We’re taking things slow.”

Chim is just about to reply when Hen walks up to them and hits Buck’s shoulder, hard. “You son of a bitch. I try to set you up with one of my friends and you go and stand her up?”

“What? Ow. Stop hitting me, Hen.” Buck dodges the next blow and frowns at her.

“What’s gotten into you? You could’ve at least told me you weren’t coming!” Hen hits him again, this time even harder than before.

“Hey, hey, hey. What’s going on here?” Bobby asks as he steps up to them and puts his hands up, stopping Hen from hitting Buck again.

“I organised a blind date for Buck and my friend said he didn’t show up!” Hen says and glares at Buck. “Eddy was more than upset that I’d organise a no show. You could’ve at least had the balls to cancel.”

Buck frowns at her. “What the fuck, Hen? I had a great date with Eddie! I went to the restaurant you told me to go to and I was even a little early.”

“What?” Hen squints at him. “She said you didn’t show up.”

It’s Buck’s time to squint back at her. “What do you mean, she? He was great! We had fun, it was an amazing date. We even kissed under the mistletoe!”

Chim raises his eyebrows at that and watches back and forth between Hen and Buck, then looks at Bobby who has his eyebrows raised as well. “He?” Bobby asks.

“Yes! Eddie Diaz from station 136? He’s amazing, and funny and we had a great time,” Buck says, feeling more and more confused by the second. “Hen set me up on a blind date with him.”

“No, I didn’t.” Hen shakes her head and blinks at him. “I set you up with my friend Eddy, Edith Delgado. She’s a paramedic at Station 121. She was pretty upset when she told me you didn’t show. She went to have a drink with Evelyn Butler from Station 126 in the end because apparently she got stood up as well. You know, the one who everyone calls Bug because— _oh_.”

“You went on a blind date with the wrong guy?” Chimney asks and bursts out laughing.

“Oh.” Buck’s eyes widen at that. “ _Oh_.”

Bobby grins and brings up his hand to squeeze Buck’s shoulder. “But you had a great time, right?”

Buck nods. “Yeah. The best in a while, actually.” He can’t believe he managed to get his blind date mixed up. But on the other hand it’s the best that could have happened to him. Buck isn’t quite sure he would have had such a good time with anyone else. 

“That’s all that matters.” Bobby gives him an encouraging smile. “Besides, Diaz is a great guy. I’m a bit disappointed we didn’t get him here at the station. I tried to make him join us, but Captain Cooper was faster than I was and snatched him away.”

“Oh.” Buck raises his eyebrows and nods. He could have had Eddie as colleague and probably would have met him much sooner. But then Buck isn’t sure how they would have ended up, most likely not on a blind date gone wrong. “I need to text him.”

When he gets his phone out of his pocket there’s a missed call from Eddie and three texts.

“ _Fuck_.”

“ _Apparently we mixed up our blind dates_.”

“ _I don’t mind. Do you_?”

Buck smiles widely at the messages and then bites his lip as he types out his reply. “ _I don’t mind either. And I’d still love to do it again_.”

Sometimes accidents are the best matchmaker. 

**Author's Note:**

> I’m [sassypopstar](http://sassypopstar.tumblr.com) on tumblr. If you want to come and talk to me. <3 (And yell about these idiots with me)


End file.
